For a short time only, would you like to have a peek at bran's new house in Dublin?

[bran]

It should be on my profile now.

wow, that's gorgeous!!

That is lovely bran :) Hope you're very happy in your new life away from London (am about to make the leap myself - have sold her but not found anywhere to move to yet!)

Wow. There is a real Spaceship in your hall!!!

Bran it's gorgeous - particularly love the oblong windows and the view. I always wanted a view..

It's lovely Bran. South side? I suppose I will still talk you being a Northsider myself!

How did ferry go? How did children cope with move?

lovely large garden - looks private from that angle too.

i could lose my children in a garden that size..

dreams<

nice piece of porn,

is that the skylight on the roof that illuminates the hallway?

Oooh Buda, that reminds me. I am Southside, I went Northside today to go to Ikea, I must pay the toll before I forget.

The DC seem really happy, DS loves his new school which has loads of running around space and more children in his class (he's an extreme extrovert). The ferry crossing was fine, we were on the Ulysses and it was a flat calm so nobody was sick.

It is quite a large garden for this sort of house, although not really huge. The plot is a quarter of an acre. The house that we almost bought was on half and acre, now that one was big enough to lose the children in. This one, no matter hard I try they still find their way back from the far end of the garden.

I bet Ikea tempts a lot of southsiders over!! You can pay online.

Glad DCs happy. Lol at them finding their way home!!

Bran, I know you're protecting your identity (wisely) but you're on the southside but 5 minutes from Ikea !

I bet it will take many many trips to ikea to fill a gorgeous house that big. It really is fabulous btw, you must be thrilled.

Bran - it's AMAZING. really lovely. Such a change from London i'm sure - especially with the lovely view. I'm of you! :)

I'm about 30 mins from Ikea Valium, just a few minutes from the M50 though.

It is a huge change from London. I'm finding it truly weird to be suburban after living in a very urban area. All sorts of little habits have to be broken, like when I used to go shopping in London I had to think about the weight as it all had to be carried up from an underground car park under an ajacent building to ours. I still find myself thinking about how much tinned/liquid stuff I'm buying even though I now park outside my front door.

It's also rather creepily quiet here, I'm in a gated road with only 9 houses so there's very little bustle around us. Our house is at the end so nobody even walks or drives past. It's a big change from living in a development with over 450 apartments and a leisure centre. We lived there for 10 years so I knew loads of the neighbours and there was almost always someone to say "Hi" to when I was coming and going.

I really freaked myself out last night when I went to get washing off the line after dark, something scurried and scuffled by the side gate in the dark. It was almost certainly just a cat, but our terrace on the 5th floor never had unexpected scurrying at night (although we did once have a headless pidgeon ).

Have the neighbours popped 'round with a basket of muffins in a gingham-lined basket?

not yet?!

It must be a heavenly to go from an apartment to that beautiful big house though. I'd say, well, this was my own experience anyway, it takes about 9 months before you forget that you're new 'round here. (Even if you grew up in Ireland, new to the patch, new to the 'scene' (young families). I remember trying to make myself go to a mums and tots group and knowing nobody. Weird.

Beautiful house, Bran - I love the skylight!!!

Wow love the house - you are so lucky to get such a nice one. So few in Ireland have got charecter imo...

Hope you settle in ok. My sister lives on the southside near the M50 too - wonder if she is near you (she is near a very nice large park...)

I don't think she found it easy to get to know other mothers when she was on mat leave (not so many toddler groups as in the UK) but I guess you will already have a network of friends?

She might be, Decor. There are two lovely parks that I can think of near the M50, one begins with M and is close to a posh secondary school, and the other begins with C and is close to a great big Dunnes and the N11. I'm near the second one.

My network of friends currently consists of my mother and my cousin. I expect there are several people that I know with children at DS's school but as it's well over 20 years since I last saw them we wouldn't recognise each other, and DS's surname is different from mine so that wouldn't clue anybody in if they saw a class list. So far I have met a friend of Mum's who's grandson is in DS's class and a woman I was in Girl Guides with (so haven't seen for nearly 30 years) who's son is also in DS's class.

I've bought tickets for a school fundraiser on Saturday (jazz and bbq, I'm not keen on jazz but I'll drown out the sound with my munching). There is a church picnic on Sunday which is joint between the parish we currently live in and the parish I grew up in so there should be plenty of old faces there too. I reckon I can elbow my way back into some sort of social life by the end of term, even if it's only saying hello at the school door.

Ah my sister is near the one beginning with M!

How did things work out with your dh's niece btw?

gorgeous house i would so love to move to ireland.we go every year and love it perhaps one day i'll be brave enough to do it.

Very nice bran.

Enjoy your new home

oh bran, it is beautiful!

I love the hole in the hallway ceiling

(& the view of the mountains )

Gorgeous house